Last night, Baltimore City DOT presented a revised design of the Potomac Street protected bike lane at the Canton Community Association meeting. The majority of the room was in support of a protected lane on Potomac, because people like you showed up and spoke out. So, thank you!

The revised design maintains a two-way, all-ages, high-quality protected bike lane. It addresses any emergency vehicle access concerns. It adds loading zones. It maintains parking. You can view the redesign on the Baltimore City DOT website here.

DOT has launched a 30 day comment period on the revised design, and we are asking you to email comments in support.

DOT will disregard template emails, so make sure to customize the subject and write your own comments in the email body. Please be sure to mention the importance of the lane remaining an all-ages, high-quality, protected design.

We'll provide a longer update on the meeting at a later date. Thanks, and keep up the #FightForBikes!

This summer we spent considerable time and resources ensuring that a high quality, all ages bike facility championed by residents was not removed. That was only possible because you—our supporters—were galvanized and took action.

Next Tuesday marks an important next step in ensuring the success of our action. The Department of Transportation will present the revised design to the community at the Canton Community Association meeting. We are asking you to turn out. And most importantly, be vocal during the meeting of your support of the project.

As part of our settlement with the city, we have been instructed to not to share the design in advance of the meeting. The public—including our members—still needs a chance to be involved in the process. What we can say is the new design has taken into consideration the concerns raised by some folks who live in the neighborhood, received the approval from the Fire Department, and has the support of the Mayor’s office and DOT.

During this process, we were discouraged but not surprised by the divisive rhetoric put forward by those who wished to see the lane removed. It’s challenging moving Baltimore forward on issues regarding safety and transportation. When change happens, those opposed resort to a type of fortress mentality, a belief that only they should have input into changes in their community. What this ignores is the many people who are their neighbors that have been supportive of the project since the beginning. They paint Bikemore as some special interest group (their exact words)—as if improving the safety of all road users, and increasing opportunities of mobility is somehow nefarious and does not in fact have well-documented benefits on the community as a whole. Even throughout the legal process we had to constantly remind those on the other side of the table that this argument was not residents versus people who bike—but that the people who bike are in fact also residents who happen to have an opposing point of view. Yes, we organized and formed an advocacy group to champion that point of view—because as evident by how behind we are at achieving progress in multimodal planning—our interests were not well represented.

Opposition will also state that Bikemore engaged in some secret meetings to try and get the new design put forward. What they leave out is that the plaintiffs in the case were not Bikemore, but our members—members who live in Canton and Highlandtown and rely on the Potomac lane frequently. The secrecy? That’s part of the legal process, one Canton residents were a part of. Our settlement was negotiated under the terms that we would allow the City to engage in a public process moving forward. This was a design put forth by DOT. It did not meet all of our demands, but preserved key pieces that allowed us confidence that the City had taken our concerns into consideration. Anything else is conjecture and hyperbole. It’s about power and nothing more.

Next Tuesday it is critical that those who bike and rely on safe infrastructure to do so turn out and demonstrate a commitment to safe streets. We are especially encouraging our members who live in Canton to be represented. We will be following up with many of you individually. That’s how important it is you show up.

When you show up, we ask you to speak. Community meetings are tough. Opposition intentionally organizes to make it vitriolic so that it intimidates reasonable people from attending and expressing their views. But we can’t sit idly by and allow our needs to be shouted down. When the time comes to have input, we need you to raise your hand. Get in line to speak. You don’t need to have an eloquent speech prepared. Simply saying, “I’m a Baltimore resident and I support protected infrastructure on Potomac” is enough.

To rally supporters we will be out in front at 6:30, handing out stickers to demonstrate your support. We love our city. We want it to work for everyone—no matter how you choose to get around. We believe this design does just that. It’s time we demonstrate strongly that we want choice when it comes to how we get around. Simply planning and designing streets only for cars is something that does not work for the future of Baltimore. And neighbors creating a fortress mentality that believe they represent the whole of a neighborhood, or that those that live in the city and may use that street don’t have a say on what happens on the public right of way is wrong, and the least neighborly way to behave.

We can’t begin to express how grateful we are to your action thus far. The donations, the emails, and the phone calls have been what has kept us going. The time is now to demonstrate that we are residents and we believe in a future that provides safe options for all road users.

It’s been over a month since Aaron Laciny was killed in a hit and run while riding his bike in Baltimore County. The driver of the car that killed him has not been identified. Bikemore is deeply concerned that a driver so callous and dangerous is still out there — driving a car and putting others lives at risk. We believe identifying the driver of the vehicle will also bring Aaron’s loved ones closure. As advocates, it’s important we fight for people who bike — especially the victims of fatal crashes and their loved ones.

At the request of Aaron Laciny’s family, we have set up a separate account to assist them to raise money to increase the reward. We believe raising the reward, coupled with the demonstrated community support at Aaron’s memorial ride on Monday has the potential to force someone with information about who is responsible for his death to come forward.

To that end, all money raised through this page will directly go toward increasing the MetroCrimestoppers reward for information leading to an arrest. Help us ensure Aaron’s family has every resource at their disposal to find justice.

And please join us on Monday evening at 7pm, at the Eddies at 6213 Charles Street for a memorial ride in memory of Aaron. Bring lights and water. The ride will be slow paced and approximately 8 miles. More info here.

Contribute to the Reward Fund

At tonight’s Baltimore City Council meeting, Councilman Ryan Dorsey will introduce a Complete Streets ordinance. Complete Streets are streets designed to prioritize the safety of all people using the street over the speed of moving cars. This legislation was a priority for Bikemore and a strong part of Councilman Dorsey’s campaign platform.

This will be the first Complete Streets ordinance in the country that is centered around equity — in a deliberate attempt to begin to undo decades of structurally racist planning that has promoted car commuting from surrounding counties over mobility for city residents.

Over the past year, we have been building a broad coalition supporting Complete Streets. We’ve met with and are proud to have support from a host of community groups, including CASA de Maryland, No Boundaries Coalition, Old Goucher Community Association, and Original Northwood Association. Statewide organizations like Maryland Builders Industry Association have signed on. And, we have national support from groups like the AARP and Safe Routes to School, who recognize the importance of complete streets to aging in place and getting our kids to school. To date, we've met with more than two dozen community associations, a dozen trade groups, national advocacy partners, and key city agencies.

We plan to take our time stewarding this bill toward passage. There will be multiple public work sessions on the legislation, and we will continue our neighborhood tours introducing Complete Streets to residents across the city. Our coalition will grow, and we want your support.

This week we lost a dear friend. Jeremy Pope was killed while riding his bike near BWI. He was rear ended by a person driving a car. He often biked that route home from the light rail station, coming from work or spending time with friends in Baltimore. He was a fixture in a group of friends I am lucky to be a part of. His loss is felt by many. Our hearts go out to his family and friends who now have to carry on without him.

It’s never easy to be a bike advocate when someone loses their life in a preventable crash. It’s hard to find the right words. Each time someone dies, we are asked to reflect on what specific changes can be made to prevent another family from experiencing this tragedy. In Bikemore’s short history, we’ve written about this numerous times: for Aaron Laciny, for Ralph Roane and Marcus Arvin, and for Tom Palermo. Maybe it’s because I just saw Jeremy last Friday at Bike Party, maybe it’s because of the proximity to Aaron’s death, but this one feels particularly tough to write.

People drive too fast, too distracted, and are killing each other’s loved ones. I think by now it’s clear we need a dramatic change in our culture, and that change needs to be pushed forward by our civic leaders.

Every time I have to beg and grovel for a little bit of decency or consideration for people who bike on the roadway, it seeps into the subconscious of the collective that we don’t belong there.

Every time civic leaders weigh equally the safety of vulnerable road users against shaving a few minutes off someone’s commute or the convenience of getting to park right in front of one’s house, they are emboldening disregard for the lives of people who ride bikes. They make our deaths appear inevitable, of our own making.

I’m living this right now—in the midst of planning one memorial bike ride for Aaron Laciny and attending one for Jeremy tonight—I’m still being told by some residents in Canton how unreasonable I am for asking for protected bike lanes to be designed at federally-guided minimum width.

I met Jeremy Pope at my first Bike Party. I had just moved to Baltimore. In what was already a chaotic ride home through the park, Jed and I happened upon a crash, and were quickly called away to another crash on the other side of the park. When we got there, I saw bikes underneath a car, and all three back wheels on the bikes were bent. Jeremy was one of the people that was hit. Miraculously, nobody was badly hurt. I remember talking to Jeremy specifically, calming him down, encouraging him to stay level-headed while the responding officers treated the whole ordeal with the kind of disdain I’ve now come to expect. We worked with police to ensure all three had a safe ride home with their bent up bicycles. The next few days I connected the driver and the cyclists to make sure folks were working together to get bikes fixed and medical costs taken care of.

Jeremy was always generous with his gratitude after that. To me, he represented my first Baltimore bike advocacy success story. I was a source of calm and support during an intense and stressful situation for him. He repaid me tenfold over the next two years in hugs, smiles, and encouragement. It’s not often in advocacy you get a concrete win, so kind words from folks like Jeremy are what fuel me to keep going in the face of adversity.

Jeremy was on a path of self-discovery that is enviable. He constantly sought out ways to be more generous and bring others more joy. He was beginning his career in the bike industry—a career move that isn’t easy and comes with risks. He biked across the country raising money for cancer research last summer. He gave his friendship wholeheartedly to so many.

Over the past two days I’ve witnessed the hole Jeremy’s death has left in our community. He was a fixture on many weekly rides, all the bike parties, and a new, but beloved member of the Baltimore Bicycle Works family. His friendship was the kind that was so full of magic and possibility, because he was willing to go deep with those who surrounded him. At a time when so many of our relationships are based on superficial connection, Jeremy succeeded at forging many deep friendships. Those types of friendships are so vital because they allow you to be seen and valued just as you are. These friendships are abundant in Baltimore’s bike community. So while Jeremy and I never got to know one another deeply, I recognize his magic in so many of you. I feel it even more intensely this week as we all suffer this immense loss.

The bicycling community has planned a ride for Jeremy this evening (Thursday, July 6th) and all are welcome to come in celebration of the life of a wonderful human being. The ride will depart from Baltimore Bicycle Works (1813 Falls Road) at 7:30 and slow roll to Baltimore Design School (1500 Barclay Street) for a candlelight vigil at 8:30.

Please keep his family and loved ones in your thoughts and always keep promoting safe cycling and safe driving throughout Baltimore.